James w



(No Model.)

J. W. COLLIER. INCANDESCENT ELECTRIC LAMP SOCKET. No. 409,929.

Patented Aug. 27, 1889.`

Summe:

Witwe/naaf `JAMES lV. COLLIER, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

lNCANDESCENT-ELECTR'iC-LAIVP SOCKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent. No. 409,929, dated August 27, 1889. Application led .T une 10, 1889. Serial No. 313,676. (No model.)

the city, county, and State of New York, have` invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sockets or Holders 'ior-Incandesceiit Vltlcctric Lamps, of which the Jfollowing is a specification.

The socket or holder in which my invention is comprised is one made of hard rubber or equivalent insulating material-that is to say, a material which is a non-conductor of electricity and is capable of being molded into form. Into this holder, by and during the operation of forming or molding the holder, are molded and embedded all of the contacts and fixed circuit-connections, in this way dispensing with the screws and other appliances and fittings heretofore used for securing in place these parts. The holder has a socket proper for reception of the neck of the lamp, and a chamber for reception of the metallic cam or switch-piece by which the circuit through the holder is controlled, said chamber and socket being formed on opposite sides of a permanent non-conducting diaphragm or partition formed in one with the body of the holder. The switch or cam-re- -ceiving chamber is closed by a cap through which the current-conducting wires pass, said cap being removable and serving not only as a means by which the holder can be attached to a supporting-bracket and by which the switclrchamber is sealed, but also as a means whereby the condueting-wires,without other instrumentality, may be clamped in place into secure connection with their respective contacts in the holder. At the point where the stem of the key passes through the side ot the holder there is preferably a stutiing-box by which the stein is tightly packed, so as to prevent entrance of outside air or moisture into the switch-chamber, the whole arrangement and organization being such that the working parts of the holder are to all intents and purposes hermetically inclosed in the holder out of the reach of extraneous influences by which they might be injuriously aitected and by which their electrical efficiency might be impaired.

A holder such as Ihave above described in a general way can be used safely and without deterioration in localities--as, for example, in thc moist and highly-heated atmosphere of urkish or Russian baths, socalledwhere the ordinary incandescent lamp-holders of to-day soon become incapacitated for useful service. Moreover, theholder is most simple in its construction. All of the iixed contacts and connections are embedded and molded into the body ot' the holder, so that they and the body are,absolutely in one to all intents and purposes, while the only additional mechanical part to be addedis the switch or circuit-controlling cam, which by simple means can be so arranged that it may readily be taken out whenever it becomes necessary to replace or repair it. In fact, the only metallic pieces visible in the holder are the contact-surfaces themselves and the circuit-controlling switch or cam-piece.

The nature of my improvement will readily be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is an external view of the. holder. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section of the same in the plane of the switch or circuitcontrolling cam. Fig. 3 is a similar section in a plane at right angles to the plane of section of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an end view of the cap end ot' the holder with the cap removed.

The body A of the holder is made from a plastic non-conducting material, but preferably is hard rubber. It is molded with a lamp-socket a, a cam-receiving chamber b, and an intermediate diaphragm or partition c, which is in one with the remainder of the body of the holder.

The lamp-contacts are shown at'd d', the switch or cam contacts at c c, and the contacts for the current supplying or conducting wires at ff. Contacts (l e are connected electrically by connecting-strip g, contact-s d f by connecting-strip 7L, and contacts e f by connecting-strip t'. All of these contacts and connections are molded and embedded in the holder during the operation of forming the latter, and by the subsequent vulcanizing they are most firmly and permanently held on the body of the holder, no part of them being exposed save the mere contact-surfaces themselves.

`Chamber Z9 is closed and sealed by a cap B, also of vulcanite or hard rubber, which screws on the chamber end oit the holder. Through a central aperture j pass the insulated con'- ducting-wires 7c k to their respective contacts ff. In order to provide a convenient and sure connection, I prefer to make the contacts f f tubular, as shown. The wires 79 7c are bent, as indicated, and after being passed through the cap (not yet applied to the holder) their bent ends are inserted each in its tubular contact-socket for f. The cap is then screwed onto the holder, and in screwing it down into place the annular internal shoulder Z, with which it is formed, will press upon and clamp the wires most securely in place, asindieated in Fig. 2. The cap serves as a means by which the holder can be secured in place, and to this end its aperture j is screw-threaded and made ot' size and dimensions to fit the standard stem employed in the electric-light fixtures of to-day.

Inasmuch as the cap is to screw both upon the stem of the ixture and upon the holder and wires therein, means must be provided for preventing` the wires from being twisted during these operations. To this end, inasmuch as the aperture 7' must have a righthand screw-thread in order to fit the standard screw-threaded bracket or supportingstem now generally used, the end of the cap which screws upon the holder has a left-hand screw-thread. In this way the cap can be screwed upon its supporting-stem and the holder simultaneously, and by the time it has clamped the wires it has been screwed sufficiently upon its supporting-bracket.

The metallic cam or switch piece C maybe of any suitable construction or form. In the position shown it has closed the circuit between the contacts e and c. Bygiving it a quarter-turn from the position the circuit will be interrupted. This circuit-controllin g cam has in its center a square hole to receive the squared inner end of the key D, which passes through a bearing in the side of the holder. rlhe key, when engaged with the cam, is held in that position by a tongue m, sliding in a guideway formed for it in the body of the holder and entering an annular groove n in the stem of the key. By withdrawing the tongue the key can be drawn out and the cam (which is really the only movable part in the holder and the only piece of metal appertaining to it which is not embedded in the hard rubber) can readily be removed and replaced.

At the point in the side ot' the holder where the key passes through into the cam-receiving chamber I prefer to provide a stuflingbox p, which surrounds and packs the stem,

of the key to prevent entrance into the chamber of moisture or other corroding or oxidizing agent, which might injure the efficiency ot the switclrcam.

Having described my improvements and the manner in which the same are or may be carried into ettect, what I claim as new and of my own invention isl. The non-conducting holder having the socketed main-'wire contacts f f and their permanentconnections molded and embedded within its body and provided with the non conducting cap B, as and for the purposes hercinbefore. set forth.

2. The non-conducting holder having the socketed main-wire contacts f f and their permanent connections and provided with the non-conducting right and left screw-cap B, adapted at once and by the same movement to clamp the main or leading-in wires into place and to screw upon the bracket or support for said socket, as set forth.

An incandescent lamp-holder, of hard rubber or equivalentnon-condu cting material, formed in one piece, containing a lamp-socket, and a switehereceiving chamber solidly partitioned from said socket and having molded and embedded in it the fixed contacts for the lamp, switch, and main or leading-in wires, together with the permanent connections between said contacts, and provided with a movable circuit-controlling switch or campiece in said chamber, a key-stem extending through the side of the holder into said chamber and detachably engaged with both the holder and the cam-piece, and a removable cap for closing the rear end of the switch-receiving chamber, as set forth.

In testimony whereofI have hereunto signed my name this Sth day of June, A. D. 1889.

JAMES IV. COLLIER.

Witnesses:

EWELL A. DICK, E. D. SMooT. 

